Wednesday, June 18, 2008

In need of a surf session

I'm restless. It doesn't feel like summer. This time of year is supposed to see me spending 50% of my time outside. I miss the beach, and most of all surfing. I need the release of sport, and my sport has been devoid of a playing field for weeks. Not one promising swell, and the forecast looks like flat seas for days to come.

Unfortunately, I think my craving isn't self justifying, but rather stems from boredom with other aspects of my situation. I'm tired of commuting between North Chelmsford, Cambridge, Salem, and Salisbury; four places that couldn't possibly be less conveniently spaced. I'm frustrated by the miserable people that live beneath Ashley and Jackie, who choose to bitch and nitpick about nothing. And I'm put off by the fact that our UROPs at the Broad are doing more interesting work than I am. All of this has manifested itself in the form of a monotonous weekday life that leaves me aching for a nap at 2pm instead of craving to get back to what should be exciting work.

Maybe I just need something to energize me between now and the big move. In less than a month, Tim and I will be moving into a new apartment on the Lynn-Swampscott border. With this move, I'll finally be back on the north shore -- near the beaches, a stone's throw from perfect, nor'easter surf at Nahant, and 10 minutes away from my girl. The icing on the cake: my daily commute will be shortened by at least an hour... and hour I can spend at the gym, painting, surfing, going on walks with Ashley -- anything but driving from A to B.

Besides all advantages of moving, I love moving itself. What could be more refreshing than taking apart your living space and reassembling it somewhere new and groovy. Ashley and I have been priming and painting her future bedroom on Federal St., and yesterday we disassembled, moved, and reassembled Jon's old wardrobe. One piece at a time, this new place will become a reflection of its new inhabitants. How cool!

Continuing on the positive note, fun things have been happening. In the work category, I was treated to a 2 day training seminar for Acuity Xpress, a very cool analysis and exploration application for high content, image-based, biological screens.

Last weekend, Chris, Nick and I camped up in Crawford Notch to celebrate my cousin Savannah's birthday. Along with her and her boyfriend Patrick, we met other members of her posse who proved to be a lot of fun. We one-upped the typical camping thing of marshmallows, burgers, and beer, but adding Beirut, flip-cup, and a trip to North Conway to the equation. Our site was right on the river, which we all made a point to swim in at one point. Chris, Josh, and I had a good time throwing rocks from a distance at a dead tree hanging over the river. What a great way to spend an hour of the day! I felt like a little kid again! Someone even bought a slingshot that we used to shatter beer bottles as they were thrown into the air. I was astounded by the fact that 3 people were actually able to pull this off. We cleaned up responsibly afterwards. As night fell, we made sparkler-photo art by tracing our bodies in sparks over long exposure times.


The preceding weekend, I laughed myself stupid watching Kung Fu Panda at the theater with Tim, Rae, Laura, and Andrew. Saturday, Ashley and I got shivers listening to Ellis Paul perform at the New Moon Coffeehouse in Haverhill. What an amazing songwriter! The next morning, we hit the beach after looking at an apartment with Tim, then sped into Boston to catch the Red Sox - Mariners game at Fenway. J.D. Drew made an excellent catch right in front of us, then pulled a solo homer that won us the game 2-1. We capped the day off by swinging by my cousin Shannon's high school graduation party in Woburn. Phew, what a day!

This coming weekend, Chris and I are celebrating our respective licensure and masters degree by means of a barbeque in Salisbury. Beer, burgers, and volleyball will pervade the event. And Nick and I will soon be painting a custom Red Sox bar in the form of the green monster for his new apartment. I really can't complain much considering all the fun I'm having on the weekends.

...Still, nothing satisfies the soul like a good surf session.

1 comment:

Student Nurse said...

Congrats Adam, it seems like you have a lot to be excited about. Best of luck in your upcoming move closer to your work, your girl, and your surf. What could be better? See you Saturday.